Artwork
Memorial Portrait of Moses ter Borch
Memorial Portrait of Moses ter Borch is an unspecified painting by the Dutch Golden Age artist Gesina ter Borch. It dates from 1668 and is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum.
About this work
Overview
The work is a memorial portrait of Moses ter Borch, who fell in 1667 during the assault on Fort Languard near Felixstowe. Executed shortly after his death, the painting combines a likeness of the young man with a symbolic still life, arranged to reflect the brevity of life and the circumstances of his demise.
Subject & Meaning
In the composition, Moses is shown seated at a table, letter in hand, while a skull, a pocket watch, and two small dogs occupy the surrounding space. The skull signifies mortality, the watch alludes to the fleeting nature of time, ivy climbing the rocks suggests continuity, and the dogs convey fidelity, together forming an allegorical tribute to the deceased.
Technique & Style
The portrait and the surrounding objects were executed by two siblings: Gerard ter Borch rendered the figure’s face and attire with his characteristic attention to texture and light, whereas his sister Gesina contributed the background and the still‑life elements, employing a delicate, detailed hand that balances realism with symbolic nuance.
History & Provenance
Created soon after Moses’ death, the painting remained within the ter Borch family before entering public collections. It is now held by the Rijksmuseum, where it is displayed as part of the museum’s holdings of Dutch 17th‑century portraiture and family memorials.
Context
The portrait reflects a broader 17th‑century Dutch practice of commemorating fallen relatives through emblematic objects. Such memorials often combined realistic portraiture with vanitas motifs, linking personal loss to universal themes of mortality, time, and the persistence of memory.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Gesina ter Borch (Deventer 15 November 1631 – Zwolle 16 April 1690) was a Dutch Golden Age watercolorist and draftswoman, whose work mostly consists of watercolor paintings in albums.
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Memorial Portrait of Moses ter Borch